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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22821463">Sisters at War</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookweave/pseuds/Cookweave'>Cookweave</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Soul Calibur</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 12:14:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,294</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22821463</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookweave/pseuds/Cookweave</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A short story regarding what would happen if the Alexandra sisters obtained the legendary swords</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sisters at War</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a long night. Winter had set its icy chill on the mountainsides where Sophitia made her home. Her children slept peacefully in the room opposite, Rothion sleeping alongside her. In the third room was one of their closest friends, one who spent her days worrying. This woman was Ophelia, the long-time girlfriend of Cassandra Alexandra. Alas, this was the only person in this room, as Cassandra was nowhere to be found.<br/>The elder sister wasn’t asleep. She was preparing herself for an oncoming battle that she knew she couldn’t avoid. She had checked her armour plates had fit well. Once she was armoured, she finally tied her boots and gave a small sigh of contempt. She gave a soft, loving gaze to Rothion before leaving the home altogether, perhaps for the very last time.<br/>The truth was that in the previous battle, Cassandra had been taken in by the cursed sword. The Azure Knight had been defeated and his sanity restored. Now he sought to atone for his sins and lead the battle against Ostrheinsburg with his legendary mercenary company, the Schwarzwind. The old king of Ostrheinsburg was Siegfried Schtauffen as the Azure Knight, Nightmare. But with Nightmare defeated, that king was dead.<br/>But as the saying went, “The king is dead; long live the queen.”<br/>Approaching the shrine, Sophitia took a second to kneel and pray that she would be kept safe along her journey. She would then enter into the deepest part of the shrine, one where only both Alexandra sisters had been able to tread in thousands of years. On the wall hung three swords and a single shield, with the fourth sword and a second shield being kept upon a pedestal below. The three weapons mounted upon the wall were the two Omega Swords, weapons forged from holy ore gifted by Hephaestus wielded by Sophitia, and the Digamma Sword, a weapon forged solely for Cassandra. The lone shield that rested on the wall was the Owl Shield, Sophitia’s first shield.<br/>Those were none of her concern though, as Sophitia slowly approached the weapons on the pedestal. One of these was one that she was all to familiar, and the other… it was new, but it scared her. The shield was the Elk Shield. Sophitia had used this shield for six years now and was one of the most reliable things to have ever come out of Rothion’s forge. The other weapon, however… <br/>The other weapon was the spirit sword itself, Soul Calibur.<br/>The elder sister had found the blade formed as a slender Chinese blade during her last time in Ostrheinsburg and had taken it back to the shrine for safe keeping. She had been filled in by a wise old man about this sword, and said that the sword chose its host, morphing into their ideal weapon. It was the same as Soul Edge in that sense. This is why it was so surprising that the blade morphed into a shortsword, perfectly balanced for the young woman to wield.<br/>Taking her first steps out with this new blade in hand, Sophitia gave a long sigh as she took a step out of the shrine and made her way back to the village. She kept herself cloaked as to not be recognised when she was leaving. The last thing that she needed was those closest to her to be worrying about her as she left.<br/>This mission was surely to be perilous though, and not long after leaving their quiet little mountain town, the girl was met upon by a lone thief. He was huge, standing at around 6’9”, carrying on his hip a longsword that looked as if it had seen better days. “Finally,” the male said with a lick of his lips. He was staring up and down the young woman, her figure being exactly what he wanted. “I’ve been needing to relieve my stress with a little missy like you… now shut your trap and get on your knees!”<br/>“I’m afraid not,” Sophitia would keep her voice low and calm, bringing down the hood to reveal her features in full to the male. The gentle moonlight shone upon her cheek, giving it an almost ethereal glow. It was mesmerising but would also be deadly if the male did not keep his guard up. “I cannot let you do this.”<br/>“Do you want to get your throat slit, bitch?!”<br/>“I do not fear you, tainted one,” Sophitia kept her voice low, calm and never showed a hint of aggression. However, this did not mean that she would show mercy towards him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Drawing the spirit sword, Sophitia gave a small sigh before drawing the blade from her hip. The very air around the blade began to fog up in a glimmering mist, a beauty one could only dream about having in a weapon. Bringing her shield forwards, she held the sword behind her, preparing for a fight.<br/>The bandit drew his sword and wasted no time in approaching the girl, simply attempting to cut her head clean off with a brutal swipe. But for some reason, Sophitia’s movements to avoid the blow felt more effortless than ever. Perhaps it was the fact that she had just awakened and so did not have any fatigue, or maybe it was the bitter winter air around her, but her movements felt fluid, yet sharp. She darted forwards, underneath the decapitating blow and on the way up, hooked her shield upwards in what resembled a weaponised uppercut.<br/>The attack landed flush against the jaw of the bandit, who was launched into the air before crashing back down. Sophitia continued her onslaught of decisive strikes as the man scrambled to his feet. In the chaos, he was unable to defend himself, as a slash against his ankles caused him to double over in pain. The wound itself surprisingly did not bleed, however. Instead, it seemed as if the area where the cut had been made almost froze over. <br/>Before he had a chance to process this, however, Sophitia had plunged the blade directly into the stomach of the assailant, which was soon ripped out from the side. This was more than enough shock to kill the bandit instantly, although upon his collapse to the floor, something odd happened.<br/>Sophitia could only stand and observe as the corpse of the man froze from the stomach wound outwards, transforming him into what could only be thought of as a grisly ice sculpture. Sophitia knew that the blade was powerful, but she had absolutely no idea just what it was capable of doing. She was stunned by this, but it soon came back that she could not waste time dawdling like this, trying to figure out what this weapon was doing.<br/>Instead, she stabbed the blade into the ground and clasped her hands in prayer. She knew that faith would be the main force that kept her going, and so it was best to make sure that the gods are thanked for their assistance in this journey.<br/>Once the prayer was competed, Sophitia drew Soul Calibur and stood up, sheathing the blade in a scabbard that the weapon had morphed onto her side. She then pulled the hood up on her cloak and walked towards the main city of Athens. From there, she would be able to get a boat and sail to the mainland. As for the body of the bandit, Sophitia could only leave him there. She hadn’t any time to waste.<br/>“May you rest in peace.”<br/>Dawn would soon arrive as the wanderer made her way towards the ports. Fatigue was starting to catch up to her, but she knew that the best thing for her to do would be to get her rest on the ship. Speaking with the harbour master, Sophitia would be allowed to board onto a ship heading towards central Europe. The boat would sail from Athens to northern Italy. From there it would only be a short distance to travel to make it into Ostrheinsburg. For a minimal amount of coin, a helpful older captain would allow for the holy warrior to step on his boat. He knew stories of the Spirit Sword and its divine capabilities, so he was more than happy to help on the condition that Sophitia could fight should bandits attack them. This was a simple price to pay, so the woman agreed.<br/>The boat would soon set sail, where Sophitia would watch as the Athens harbour slowly grew smaller. Once it was finally out of view, Sophitia would give a small sigh as she stepped down into the cabins of the ship. She would find a vacant room and take the time to finally close her eyes.<br/>Rothion must have noticed that she was gone now. The entire family must have been worried sick, but this needed to be done. This needed to be done now.<br/>“Don’t worry, Mother… Father… I’ll bring her back.”</p>
<p>“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Kill them, you stupid damned reptile,” A woman’s voice would bark as she stood looking over the balcony of her castle. This was onto a main courtyard, where Cassandra Alexandra stood, looking over her newfound kingdom. At one hip she had her primary advisor and her solution to any carnal desires she may have, and at the other, the cursed sword, Soul Edge. Tira was clearly only loyal to her because of the blade, but that would do nicely. After all, she would just be another sacrifice to the blade.<br/>Below their balcony, Cassandra would simply watch behind a simple mask the carnage. The male below had been found attempting to make his way into the castle, trying to meet the new queen. She had a fiery temper on her, and for the act, Cassandra had sentenced him to death. He was tied up as a lizardman was released from a cage. Unfortunately, the abomination of a creature had no intention of playing along and helping out in this.<br/>“Please, my queen! I beg of you—”<br/>“CRAM IT,” Cassandra’s voice would boom over the courtyard as Tira stood giggling at the fear on the man’s face. She would run a finger across the arm of the new royalty, before getting a small smirk from the possessed woman. “You’ll get what you want a little later on. For now, I’ll deal with this traitor myself.”<br/>Stepping back from the balcony, the woman would soon step down and into the courtyard herself. From here, the doomed man was able to see the queen. She wore an ornate breastplate, azure with golden trims on it, as well as a militaristic crimson skirt, as to demonstrate this woman’s authority. Her legs bore tightly-fit leg armour; the metal slender enough to demonstrate the shape to anyone who dared look. Her left arm bore a white glove that was up to the bicep, and her right arm was completely covered by a crimson cloak draped from her left shoulder. Out in plain sight on her left hip was the weapon that showed her royalty.<br/>“Stupid damned creature.”<br/>Walking past the part man-part beast, Cassandra would give a snarl as she looked up and down the tied-up criminal. Her guards around her were bowing to her at this point, daring not to look up. People knew that the sword brought out the most violent and ruthless side of people, and this was no exception. The scariest part was the fact that she had absolute control over her being. She was not a mindless killing machine or a puppet of the sword. She was intelligent.<br/>“Your majesty, I am so glad to finally meet you—”<br/>“I said CRAM IT,” Cassandra would bark as she approached the prisoner, to within touching distance of him. The queen wanted to make an example of him, and she could not think of a better way to do so than to show just how slowly someone can die. Just how painful death could be. “Your little stunt has wound you in a lot of trouble. I’m going to use you to make a point, you hear me?”<br/>A silent nod came from the prisoner. At that point, Cassandra raised her foot and slammed it down onto the foot of the prisoner. This would be painful enough, but Cassandra was in stiletto heels. The heel pierced through skin and flesh, making a sharp clacking noise as it hit the stone tiling underfoot. He screamed out in agony, even moreso when the queen lifted her heel to rip it back out.<br/>“You’ll be an example I would set. You can see that lizardman over there, correct,” Cassandra would ask. The male was whimpering, still looking down at the hole in his foot. He was silent, not following the finger of the blonde woman in front of him.<br/>Another stomp from the heel, this time on the other foot.<br/>Another scream of agony.<br/>“YOU ANSWER ME WHEN I ASK YOU A QUESTION, WRETCH!” the woman barked with fury undivided in her voice. She had her mind set on a sacrifice for the blade, and she knew that a soul that was in absolute despair, one that had been destroyed to the point where it resigned on being nothing more than nutrition for Soul Edge.<br/>“Y-yes, your Highness…” the prisoner would whimper as he looked up, staring at the creature that was more pre-occupied with attacking the bars of the cage it had been released from.<br/>“You see, my initial plan was to have you eaten alive by it. Torn limb from limb,” Cassandra would reply, a sadistic grin slowly creeping onto her face. The idea of knowing that this man would be tortured was so satisfying to her. So good… “…but, somebody fed the stupid subhuman before bringing it out to you. No matter though. You will die and you will die today. As the saying goes, if you need something done right, you have to do it yourself. Trust me. By the time you are on the brink of death, you will be wishing that reptilian teeth were sinking and grinding against your bones.”<br/>It was at that point that from underneath the cloak extended a talon of flesh and hardened bone. It was like a gauntlet; impenetrable yet flexible. The size of the organic armouring seemed to mismatch the rest of her body yet worked perfectly in time with it. The clawed hand reached out and grabbed the prisoner by the arm, the talons gripping around in a vice grip, slashing slowly into the skin.<br/>“Beg for forgiveness all you want. You will receive none,” Cassandra would slowly reply before continually applying additional pressure to the arm until she heard the screams of torturous agony and felt a satisfying snap that sent a feeling of sadistic euphoria through her very being. This pain being caused was only the beginning. She wandered just how much the soul could take before breaking. “Such a rush from that snap…”<br/>Cassandra would continue her torture for some time, before finally deciding that the man was completely broken in spirit. He had stopped screaming. Stopped protesting to the pain being caused to him. For the final blow, Cassandra used that mutated claw to draw the blade, bringing it to the man’s neck. He tilted his head to one side, as to offer his very flesh to her. He was expecting a swing to immediately take his head off, but no. He would not be so fortunate. Instead, Cassandra dug the blade into his flesh, laughing maniacally as she slowly cut through flesh, then artery, and then finally bone. Once the head was off, she gave a sigh, flicking away the blood that had coated her weapon.<br/>“Disgusting. Take his head and pike it on the walls. The body? Feed it to the lizardmen.”<br/>Walking into the main chambers once more, Tira was on hand to grab a cloth and wipe away the blood that had found its way onto Cassandra’s pale cheek. She felt more alive than ever, something that showed when she grabbed Tira by the chin and ran her tongue across her cheek. It was such a sweet taste… the succulent flesh of the psychotic child.<br/>But inside of her, she felt… tired. Defeated. Scared. She wanted to run away and hide, to be sick and release herself. But the sword would not allow such weakness to be manifested physically. After all; Cassandra was no longer a person. She was merely a vessel for the cursed blade, damned to do its will without question.</p>
<p>It had been a surprisingly smooth sail to get to Italy. The boat had been approached by pirates, but the pirates they came across were actually rather reasonable. As soon as they learned that this the boat was merely a passenger boat without any cargo, they were willing to leave without so much as attempting to fight. This was good, since Sophitia knew for a fact that she would need as much energy as she could muster for the upcoming battle.<br/>Once off of the boat, the holy warrior would make sure to stick to well-worn paths and roads as she travelled. It would be another uneventful journey, until finally, Sophitia made her way to the gates of an old fortress. Old, but certainly not abandoned. The walls were kept looking fresh, and the guards posted at the top were as vigilant as ever. When the lone figure approached the front gate, bows were trailed upon her. “State your business.”<br/>Without so much as even thinking about it, Sophitia simply raised Soul Calibur into the air. The guards instantly recognised the blade and raised the gate. The two guards behind the gate were a little confused as to why, but once they saw the blade being lowered and put away, they would approach the girl. “I’m here to see Siegfried Schtauffen,” Sophitia would state.<br/>“Right away ma’am.”<br/>Sophitia would wait at the entrance as the man in question approached the young woman. His entire figure was plated, save for his head, which allowed for him to give commands. He was imposing, but stood no taller than two inches above Sophitia. He gave a small smile once he saw the weapon that was upon her hip.<br/>This was Siegfried, the leader of the Schwarzwind, and her best chance of being able to come back home with her sister once again. “Sophitia, right,” the male would ask of the girl. “I vaguely remember you from the Adrian. There was a ninja who was carrying you; you looked as if you were seriously hurt. I’m… sorry that I took that cursed blade back then.”<br/>“The past is the past, Siegfried,” Sophitia would respond softly, her voice barely being carried to the other’s ears. She knew that she had to be careful. They were too close to Ostrheinsburg to risk people knowing who she was, or what she was carrying. “You cannot change that. What matters is that you are here now. I hope we can stop this blight once and for all.”<br/>“Yeah,” Siegfried responded slowly, before turning to walk back into the main fortress that the Schwarzwind called their home. Soldiers were eating, drinking, maintaining their equipment and generally making the place feel more alive. At the back is the captain’s quarters, a place where Siegfried and Siegfried alone had permission to enter. “I’m guessing you want intelligence?”<br/>“Give me anything you have.”<br/>“Alright, but you may not like it,” Reaching over to grab a bottle of water, Siegfried would set down two cups and pour something for the both of them to drink. He would wait for Sophitia to take a sip and finish it before talking once again. “Your sister is now queen of Ostrheinsburg. Once I was defeated and she took the sword away from me, it did the same thing to her as it did to me. She’s just a puppet of the sword in this state. You need to get that sword away from her. By any means necessary.”<br/>Hearing those words, Sophitia gulped and gave a silent nod. She knew it would come to this. It was hard to even imagine that she would cross blades with her sister, the one person she was closer to than anyone else in this world. But it had to be done. Sophitia had to prepare herself. It was a shame that she did not have the luxury of time to prepare.<br/>A soldier barged through the door in a panic. His armour was poorly worn, and he was still halfway through strapping his shield to his arm as he spoke. “Captain Siegfried,” he would call out hurriedly. “Ostrheinsburg have found us and the fort’s under siege!”<br/>“Any sign of heroes in their ranks?”<br/>“A number of soldiers have reported seeing a woman carrying Soul Edge.”<br/>“CASSANDRA!”<br/>Sophitia cried out as she rushed out of the room, drawing her weaponry and darting towards the front gate. Bells were being rung and the sounds of fighting were erupting from the gate. Sophitia knew it. It had to be her.</p>
<p>Cassandra’s eyes gleamed as her forces of Malfested creatures charged towards the front gates of the Schwarzwind. Driven solely on the madness that had consumed them, the slaves to the sword fought without mercy and died without fear. Their deaths were not in vain though, as the gates had been breached and the forces were inside the castle. Tossing the corpse of an enemy aside, Cassandra cackled in a maniacal way when she felt her blade pierce the flesh of any nearby soul unfortunate enough to be her victim.<br/>The main reason that they had been located was that the Malfested had sensed the presence of the Spirit Sword. She had sent Tira to hunt down the source, and sure enough, she delivered. Those birds of her clearly did their job well, which is why Cassandra could launch an offensive so swiftly.<br/>But when she saw the wielder of the spirit sword appeared in the eyeline of the Queen of Ostrheinsburg, she couldn’t help but lick her lips in delight. But at the same time, she wanted to be sick. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. “Back off on the woman with Soul Calibur,” she would command to her forces. “She’s mine.”<br/>Sophitia turned to the source of the voice, able to pick it out from a mile off. That was her sister. What had become of her. She was mutated… possessed by the malice of that accursed blade. “Cassandra, I’m so sorry it came to this…”<br/>“Came to what, dear sister? The fact that I took the blade and I can kill you here and now?!”<br/>“Cassandra, please—”<br/>“SHUT IT!”<br/>With that, the woman would wildly swing the sword across the chest of the woman. Sophitia was barely able to raise her shield in time, the cursed blade bouncing off of the metal with a brutal clang. If she hadn’t guarded that, she would be dead, there was no doubt about that. The battlefield seemed to have cleared around them, most of the Malfested had already fought their way into the castle.<br/>Cassandra swung her sword once again, bouncing off of the shield. Cassandra was always reckless, but this was… different. She was hell bent on killing Sophitia. Blow after blow smashed against the Elk Shield. It was a miracle that the shield hadn’t began to crack under the pressure of the onslaught. Sophitia had to fight back.<br/>Raising her sword, she would bring it down. She couldn’t bring herself to strike a blow fatally, so she aimed to take that arm out of action. The blade of Soul Calibur was bashed aside by Soul Edge, knocking Sophitia off-balance and onto the floor.<br/>“Time to die, sister!”<br/>Cassandra roared as Sophitia stood up. Her shield had been knocked from her arm from a previous blow, the sheer impact snapping the bone. There was no defending herself, nor was there any dodging the attack. Praying to the gods, Sophitia simply raised her blade and thrust forward.<br/>Silence fell upon not one, but both sister’s ears. Both weapons had found their mark and had been pulled back, before being dropped. Sophitia and Cassandra both fell to their knees, looking into the eyes of one another. They didn’t need to look down to see what had happened. They had both been stabbed in the stomach. The pair fell forwards, facing towards one another, face to face. In that moment, Cassandra’s eyes turned back to normal. They were… fearful.<br/>“Cassandra… I’m… so sorry…”<br/>Sophitia’s vision blurred. Cassandra had closed her eyes and had lost consciousness. Soon, Sophitia followed, and she could not remember what happened beforehand. It was as if she was in a void, and the memories had been shut away, never to be seen again…</p>
<p>Sophitia’s eyes fluttered open in an all-too-familiar place. She knew where she was. This was her home. Namely, the spare bedroom that had been kept in case they had visitors. Splitting pain shot through her as she looked over to the other cot. In it lay her sister, Cassandra. She was asleep, but absolutely breathing. Her stomach was heavily bandaged. Sophitia could feel the same bandaging around her waist. Nobody else was in the room, and she could not remember what had happened at all.<br/>What mattered was that the two of them were at home. They were alive. They were safe. Sophitia had no idea why, but she felt a sense of pride. She had kept a promise that she made. It was a shame she simply could not remember what that promise was.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was not very happy with this piece, and I have been unsure as to whether I wanted to publish it or not</p></blockquote></div></div>
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